


known for adaptability

by Nokomis



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-17
Updated: 2014-03-17
Packaged: 2018-01-16 00:54:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1325659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nokomis/pseuds/Nokomis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles keeps his promises; he brings Malia to Derek's loft as soon as the Nogitsune situation has died out. The turning-into-a-coyote lesson is going well (Stiles assumes; it's a lot of talking about actions and feelings that don't make sense to his non-shifter mind) when Peter shows up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	known for adaptability

**Author's Note:**

> For Perspexsea <3

Stiles keeps his promises; he brings Malia to Derek's loft as soon as the Nogitsune situation has died out. He’s agreed to do his best to teach her, and Malia is still longing for the forest.

The turning-into-a-coyote lesson is going well (Stiles assumes; it's a lot of talking about actions and feelings that don't make sense to his non-shifter mind) when Peter shows up.

That's when things spiral downward.

Malia storms out to the balcony; Derek grabs Peter's arm and snarls at him when he tries to follow. Stiles quickly assesses the situation and decides that Malia is the safest option. He slips out onto the balcony after her.

He hears Peter's plaintive "I need to talk to her," as he shuts the door; he knows Malia hears it too. Probably hears a lot of things that he can't.

She doesn't know Peter Hale, doesn't know any of what he's capable of. All she knows is that he thinks he's her father. The thought is chilling; Stiles can't let someone else fall under Peter's influence.

She's leaning against the railing when he steps up beside her, staring out into the evening sky. He can't read her expression; it's surprisingly guarded. 

"So that was out of the blue," Stiles offers. 

"He wasn't lying," she says, voice steady. "He believes it to be true."

"Yeah, but," Stiles says, "you're not a wolf."

The derisive look that Malia gives him is familiar. "Do you really think things are as simple as that?"

"Do you?" Stiles shoots back. "You turn human after being a coyote for eight years and immediately a psychotic werewolf -- who was in a coma for six of those years - suddenly thinks he's daddy? That's an episode of the X-Files, not real life."

"And then there's you, right at the scene for all of it," Malia replies. She looks to the view again, eyes fixed on the forest just visible on the horizon. 

Stiles doesn't have a comeback for the truth. He leans his elbows on the railing beside hers, just close enough that their arms brush when they move, and says, "Peter's bad news."

"So I've gathered," Malia says. Her lips quirk up, like it's a private joke. "I don't think I believe him, but I don't want anyone else dictating when I do believe."

"Fair enough," Stiles says. He glances back over his shoulder; Derek and Peter aren't killing each other. Instead, they're talking quietly together. "Do you want me to shut up so you can listen in?"

"Is that what you'd do with enhanced senses?" Malia asks. She raises one of her eyebrows, and Stiles tries very very hard to not do a mental comparison.

"It's what I'd do anyway, enhanced senses would just make it easier." Since they're being honest and all.

Malia actually lets out a short laugh. "I don't really... It's too much, you know? I don't want to start questioning the kind of person my mom was. Not after..."

Stiles thinks of the careful way he remembers his own mother, can't imagine adding in the complication of being responsible for her death. "Yeah. I understand." 

"So it's a non-issue." Malia doesn't look satisfied with that, but she sounds resolute. 

"Peter might not be so easy to shake," Stiles warns her. He saw the way Peter treated Cora, the way Peter wheedles his way into Derek's life. Remembers Laura's bisected corpse and Lydia's haunted eyes. He doesn't know Malia that well, not really, but he doesn't want to see her end up destroyed in Peter's wake.

"Are you worried for me, or for you?" Malia says, tone deliberately light, eyes flicking down to his mouth. It's a reminder of the things he tries really hard not to think about around werewolves, and his own gaze distractedly drifts southward until he realizes he's staring at boobs -- boobs he touched -- then, panicked, glances back into the loft. 

Malia's laughter is bright and loud this time, and Stiles opens his mouth to tell her that of course he's worried for his own well-being, they're dealing with a psychopath here, when she leans forward and kisses him.

Stiles feels his eyes go comically wide, though thankfully Malia's got better kissing etiquette than he does and has hers closed, so she doesn't see it. He can hear the sound of a growl faintly over the rushing sound of his own pulse, and when the kiss breaks, Malia looks entirely too satisfied. 

"You're a mean girl," Stiles tells her, a bit in awe, as he remembers reading an article on coyote trickster spirits when he was researching kitsune. He risks a glance over and sees Derek holding Peter by the arm. 

Malia's smile is as sharp as her laughter, and she says, "Come on."

He follows her inside, forced-casual, like he wasn't a pawn in a supernatural family squabble.

"Stiles is taking me home," Malia announces as she strides through the loft. She doesn't look at Peter; doesn't acknowledge the bomb he dropped on her.

"Driving, the word you're looking for is driving," Peter interjects. His eyes briefly flash blue, and Stiles wonders how much of this sudden protective-father act is real.

Derek has an odd disquieted expression on his face, and Stiles falters for a second, wondering if he should ask about it, before hearing Malia slide open the loft door. He hurries after her, figuring Derek didn't fight so hard to bring him back from the Nogitsune to let him die at Peter's claws now.

It's not until they're in the Jeep, pulling out of the parking lot, that Malia lets out a shaky, nervous breath and says forcefully, "Thank you." 

He remembers her brashness in the shower at the Eichen House, remembers the way she'd carefully turned her rage into a driving force. Thinks about her father -- the man who raised her -- and the desperation in his eyes, a sharp contrast to the calculation in Peter's.

Maybe he knows Malia better than he realizes. He reaches out and takes her hand, squeezing it tight to ground her.


End file.
